Hydraulic tool-clamp.



PATBNTED JAN. 2, 1906.

No. 808,6fl7.

l R. D. FILDES.

HYDRAULIC TOOL CLAMP.

. APPLICATION FILED DEG.7,1904.

z SHBBTS-SHEET 1.

f; m fl'l'N T i 15 "77 PATENTED JAN. 2, 1906.

' R. D. PILDES.

HYDRAULIC TOOL CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED DEU.7,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 p'nirnn STATES PATENT OFFICE ROLLIN D. FILDES, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONEHALF TO LE GRAND PARISH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HYDRAULIC TOOL-CLAMP.

no. s asm.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 2, 1906.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ROLLIN D. FILDES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in I-Iydraulic Tool-Clamps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for holding tools for lathes and the like, and particularly to supplying hydraulic clamping devices for tool carriages having a limited movement and requiring a very heavy pressure on the tool. The principal objects of the invention are, to provide a clamp for very firmly holding the tool of a lathe adapted for heavy work, where the tool requires to be frequently and quickly taken out of place and to be held very firmly when in place; also to design iron feed piping so that sufficient hydraulic pressure may be used in such clamps, and to attain other advantages of quick and certain action as will hereinafter appear. The invention is illustrated in a preferred form as applied to a lathe for turning car wheels, in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a general View illustrating such a lathe having a pair of tool carriages and clamps and the piping for supplying heavy fluid pressure to the clamps;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the hydraulic clamp itself and its mounting upon the tool carriage;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the clamp;

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view of the hydraulic clamp, taken along the line (4) of Figure 3, and

Figure 5 is a central section taken along the line (5) of Figure 2, the section being at right angles to the section of Figure 4.

In lathes such as here shown for illustration of the invention, it is necessary to provide very solid clamps to keep the tools in place and the tool requires frequent change for grinding, being adapted generally to very rough work. There are disadvantages in other methods of holding the tool, because of the diificulty of holding it tight and releasing it readily when desired, or changing its position; and for this reason I have provided hydraulic means for holding the tool, which, while giving greatpower, can yet be quickly and easily manipulated. It will be I seen however, that in case hydraulic power be used it would ordinarily be very diificult because of the weakness and danger of movable pipe 'oints to supply pressure to the clamp, and of course rubber hose could not be used in such case, on account of the ex tremely high pressure required. For this reason I have provided extra heavy iron pipe to conduct the hydraulic pressure to the clamp, so arranging it as to allow of the movement though the connections are fixed.

The general arrangement is as shown in Figure 1, in which 7 represents the lathe bed and 8 and 9 are the traveling carriages longitudinal of the bed, while 8 and 9 are the transverse carriages, both constructed as is ordinary. On the top of the carriage, as 8 for example, is mounted the hydraulic clamp 10, 12, which consists of a cylinder 10 and a movable jaw 12, which presses down upon the tool 13 placed under the jaw and the back pressure is taken by a series of posts 11 running through the top of the cylinder as shown in Figure 3. The clamping jaw 12 is pressed downward upon the tool by means of fluid introduced through the long pipe 14 supplied by an overhead pipe 15 which is fed by the connection 16 from any convenient form of pump, as indicated at 28. It will be remembered that in such lathes the carriage carrying the tool and the clamp 10 moving with it, will be required to have a movement of about six inchesintwo directions, and consequently the pipes 14 are made very long so that they have the required flexibility to allow this movement; but at the same time they may be made of heavy iron pipe in order to withstand the very large pressure necessary to properly clamp the tools, and the joints are all fixed.

As shown in detail on the second sheet of the drawings, the clamp consists essentially of the cylinder 10 having one open end, which receives the shank 17 of the movable jaw 12 which is provided with the usual leather packing in a manner similar to engine pistons and the like. The block 10 has a feed passage 19 which leads from the en trance nozzle 18 of a supply pipe 14 and introduces the fluid behind the plunger 17 through port 23, compressing the tool downward. The passage 19 is provided with a ball check-valve 24 to prevent back flow, and the passage is controlled by an ordinary spindle valve 22 which is mounted in a proper packing box as shown. For the exhaust of the fluid behind the piston, when it is desired to release the tool under the jaw 12, it will be seen from Figure 4 especially that the passage 25 is controlled by a valve 20 having a handle 21, and the escape is through the out let nozzle 26 which leads to an ordinary rubber or other flexible pipe 27 and drains off the fluid after release from the cylinder. In or der to readily release the tool and raise the movable jaw 12 when the hydraulic pressure is exhausted through the outlet 26, I have provided a series of coil springs 29 which are conveniently set in countersunk holes in the jaw 12 and in the top of the carriage as indicated in Figure 2. It will be understood of course that any suitable pump is provided to supply a very high pressure in the pipes 16, 15 and 14, and it may be placed anywhere as convenient, but it is essential that the pipe 16 from'the pump shall rise to the ceiling or to a considerable height above the lathe in order that the pipes 14 may be long and have flexibility enough to allow of some universal play of the tool clamp Without using any joint in the pipe other than the ordinary fixed screw joint, as the pressure required is so high that it would be diflicult to make a movable joint in the piping which would properlywithstand the pressure required.

It will be understood from this construction that the tools 13 are clamped under the jaws 12 by simply allowing the ingress of the Water through the passages 19 by turning the valve 22, and when it is desired to release the tool it may be done by closing the valve 22 and opening the valve to exhaust through the waste pipe 27-. The tools may thus be very readily put in place or released from place and while in place are held with a very firm pressure to withstand the very rough work' of turning car wheels and the like. Other advantages of the device will readily occur to those familiar with the art.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim as new, and

desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

1. The combination with the tool carriage, of a vertically reciprocating j aw for clamping the tool thereon, and hydraulic means for moving said jaw, and the connecting pipe to supply high pressure fluid thereto, compris ing a rigidly jointed pipe having a very long stem, whereby the tool carriage may move by the flexibility of said pipe without requiring the use of movable joints, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a pair of movable tool carriages and the hydraulically operated clamping jaws 12, of a pair of long vertical steel pipes attached by regular screw joints to the hydraulic clamp and to the feed pipe 15 from overhead, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a tool carriage movable in two directions a cylinder fixed thereon, a plunger in the cylinder adapted to clamp a tool on the carriage, and a hydraulic metal feed pipe for the cylinder screwed fixedly thereto and extending for a relatively great distance approximately perpendicular to the plane of movement of the carriage, substantially. as, and for the purpose, described.

4. A hydraulic clamp ng'device comprising in combination a movable carriage, a hydraulic cylinder thereon, a plunger in said cylinder adapted to actuate aclamping mechanism, and a hydraulic metal feed-pipe for said cylinder extending for a relatively great distance approximately perpendicular to the plane of movement of the carriage, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunder signed my name in the presence oi the two subscribed Witnesses.

ROLLIN D. FILDES.

Witnesses PAUL CARPENTER, ALBERT G. MILLER. 

